[lapcat]

Garden?

Anyway, I'm not denying your specific experience. It all depends on the time and the place and the parents, and those can all be different. I'm not even denying that firstborns may be treated a little differently than later children. What I am denying is that firstborn risk consciousness can explain a major societal shift in childrearing attitudes. In general, firstborn children 50 years ago were given much more personal freedom than even later children today, despite the fact that "GenX" was a smaller generation in population with few siblings.

[bombcar]

Garden is a European term used sometimes for "yard" - so mom didn't let him leave the yard, but the younger brothers were allowed to.

We have the English world kindergarten from this.